Community conversation and luncheon
Friday, May 31, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
Location: First Parish Portland
The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) was established in 2011 to honor the two million captive Africans who perished during the transatlantic crossing known as the Middle Passage and the ten million who survived to build the Americas. Join MPCPMP founder Ann Chinn and award-winning civil rights historian and activist Danita Mason-Hogans of Bridging the Gap for a community luncheon and conversation facilitated by June Thornton-Marsh about launching a Middle Passage Ceremony and Port Marker Project for Maine.
A WHERE2024 event, presented by Atlantic Black Box in collaboration with Maine Black Community Development, The Third Place, and First Parish Portland.
The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP) is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization that exists to honor African ancestors and their descendants in the Western Hemisphere. MPCPMP staff assist local groups at documented U.S. Middle Passage arrival locations in conducting ancestral memorial services and installing historical markers related to the transatlantic human trade of Africans from the 16th through the 19th century. The MPCPMP promotes the history of the African American experience in the Western Hemisphere through lectures, conference presentations, research, blog posts, and maintenance of a common platform at www.middlepassageproject.org
honored Guests & facilitator
Ann Chinn
Founder, Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project (MPCPMP)
Ann Chinn was born and grew up in Washington, DC, among family and friends with a strong awareness of history. Over the years she became a person who loves stories and the people who generate these narratives. Along the way Ann also realized that each of us is deeply entwined with a local and national heritage that can be traced through memory as well as knowledge. Textile art, social service, community organizing and historical research are constants in her life. Ann appreciates the role we all have in telling our story, in valuing who we are and who helped shape us, and in acknowledging that process.
Danita Mason-Hogans
Founder, Bridging the Gap
Danita Mason-Hogans is an award-winning civil rights historian, educator, speaker, writer and activist. She is the Founder of Bridging the Gap, a nonprofit based in Chapel Hill whose mission is to cultivate capacities & brighten communities through educational opportunities for the descendants of the enslaved in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Danita is a native of Chapel Hill, NC from seven generations on both sides of her family. The daughter of Dave Mason of the Chapel Hill Nine, who began the first sit-in of Chapel Hill’s civil rights’ movement, igniting decade of protests against segregation. Danita's acclaimed TEDx Talk "Why the Way We Tell Stories is A Social Justice Issue" was featured on TED where she describes the Critical Oral History methodology, which she uses for her podcast RE/Collecting Chapel Hill.
June Thornton-Marsh
Facilitator
June Thornton-Marsh, MSW, LCSW, is a clinical social worker, activist, author, and transformation coach with a deep understanding of the profound impact of shared listening. She specializes in guiding individuals to unlock their potential, to foster meaningful connections, and to create positive change in their lives. June is committed to creating inclusive spaces and has successfully facilitated workshops, training sessions, and interactive experiences on campuses, in organizations, and within relationships where she has honed her skills in open and honest communication, building bridges of empathy and connection, and fostering a sense of belonging and understanding.